Wildfires are burning throughout Georgia and northern Florida this week. Both states are currently under extreme and exceptional drought conditions. Governor Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency for 91 counties. While drought is a critical factor in the fires, there is an unlikely contributor that may surprise you. Here’s why Hurricane Helene (2024) may be making the fires worse.

“With much of Georgia remaining in extreme drought conditions, wildfires have already surpassed the state’s 5-year average and continue to spread,” said Governor Kemp. Other proactive actions by the state include a rare Burn Ban Order issued earlier in the week. So why is Hurricane Helene, which happened almost two years ago, relevant to these wildfires?

As Hurricane Helene moved through the state of Georgia, it produced a swath of damaging tropical storm force winds. Many parts of the state experienced wind gusts exceeding hurricane strength. These winds brought down a significant number of trees in the state. "Private forested land accounted for 88% of the impacted land ownership within the hurricane’s path," according to a report issued by the Georgia Forestry Commission. The Commission estimated that almost 9 million acres of forestland in Georgia was within the path of Helene. The timber resource impact was almost $1.3 Billion.

Much of that timber is still on the ground and is very dry. Just recently, experts in North Carolina noted there are more trees and debris on the ground in the forest now than before Hurricane Helene. Irrespective of downed trees, drought conditions have also produced dry conditions for all vegetation. Many of the fires burning are directly within the damage swath of Hurricane Helene in the states of Georgia and Florida, respectively. The largest of the Georgia fires is in Clinch County. According to WSB News, it was only 10% contained as of Wednesday and has consumed more than 16,000 acres. In addition to the Pineland Road Fire, a large fire is also burning in Brantley County.

In a conversation with Charlotte-based meteorologist Brad Panovich earlier this morning, he mentioned another impact of Helene. Many of the fallen trees and debris from the storm likely make access to the fires particularly challenging for emergency responders and firefighters.

The map below shows all of the wildfires burning in the region. As devastating as the fires are to property and livelihoods, the smoke from these fires also cause hazards. Earlier this week, coastal communities of Brunswick and St. Simons canceled outdoor activities due smoke from fires in the area.

"Coming up on three weeks rain-free, following a previous stretch of over two weeks," texted Florida State University meteorology expert and geography professor Bradford Johnson. He continued, “We have a chance of scattered storms this weekend.” There are encouraging signs for a pattern shift in the Southeast to wetter conditions, but it will take one to two feet of rainfall to get us out of this drought within a month.